Zinc

Zinc - one of the 24 essential trace elements we need to survive. It can affect our test levels and it's in a multitude of products.

tl; dr ... Short and to the Point

Who is this article aimed at?

Those interested in Zinc and it's effect on testosterone. Anyone looking at ZMA, supplementing with Zinc, or buying a T-booster with zinc as a core ingredient.

I am busy - summarize it for me

It's not easy to find an objective assessment of zinc and it's effectiveness as a test booster. If you ignore all the hype around ZMA you'll find that there are scientific studies (real ones) backing up zinc. The truth is that it's important to have healthy zinc levels if you are concentrating on your testosterone, or trying to increase it.

Zinc

Zinc a really important mineral as it is one of the 24 trace elements our bodies need to stay healthy and function properly. The list of conditions helped by zinc and the the problems that can happen if we don’t get enough is too long to go into here, but we’ll put one at the end of this article for the really medically curious among you.

Zinc and Testosterone

So it’s vital for general health, but what about testosterone? What effect does topping this mineral up with supplements have on our T levels?

Finding out the answer to that isn’t as simple as you might think. Like magnesium, there is a lot rubbish talked about zinc. ZMA use splits opinion right down the middle. It can be hard to cut through the hype or scare stories and find solid facts. The best way to do this is by going direct to the scientific studies. They may be dry as a camel’s backside but at least they give it to you straight.

Study: Zinc status and serum testosterone levels of healthy adults

Year: 1996

Prasad A.S., Mantzoros C.S., Beck F.W., Hess J.W., Brewer G.J.

Department of Internal Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA.

This study reported that zinc played an important role in regulating testosterone levels in normal men. Note that – normal men, not men with any deficiencies in that area. The 40 men who took part in the study were aged between 20 and 80 years of age.

They also studied a further 9 older men (64 +/- 9 years) who were deficient at the start of the trial.

The lead researcher in this study had dedicated his whole career to the study of this mineral and, 15 years later, was to receive a congressional commendation for the scientific advances he had made in 50 years of work on zinc and how it affects us.

The normal young men had their zinc restricted for 20 weeks and their testosterone levels dropped to just over a quarter of their starting levels, on average (39.9 to 10.6). In the older men who were zinc deficient the 6 months of zinc supplementation resulted in their serum testosterone levels almost doubling (on average 8.3 to 16.0).

OK, it’s important for testosterone – what’s the problem?

Well the problem is that a couple of years after this study was done a brilliant marketer (note: not a scientist….a skilled marketer and former musician) named Victor Conte founded a sports nutrition organization called BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative).

This organization not only created the banned steroid tetrahydrogestrinome, which Conte did time for after pleading guilty in 2005, the also developed ZMA. ZMA is, a supplement designed to improve sleep and enhance hormone profiles. It comprises Zinc Monomethionine Aspartate, Magensium Aspartate and Vitamin B6.

As you can read in our section on magensium, the scientific data that backs up ZMA is a questionable study, which Conte himself was involved in. Still, ZMA was heavily marketed as a testosterone booster, netted Conte and his affiliates a fortune and later spawned a backlash of angry bloggers keen to trash Conte and any ZMA products as frauds. Google ‘Zinc Testosterone Booster’ and you’ll find just as many commentators saying it does nothing at all as you’ll find parties with a vested interest claiming it’s a natural T boosting miracle.

The answer, as always, lies somewhere in the middle.

Conclusion

Zinc supplementation does indeed have a proven clinical record as a T booster. Keeping healthy levels in your system will be hugely beneficial to not only your T, but your overall well being, so we would recommend a supplement which contains sufficient zinc.

Both of our top two supplement recommendations (for both muscle building and libido/energy) contain high levels of zinc- TestoFuel and Prime Male.

Deficiency

Stunted growth

Acute diarrhea

Slow wound healing

Treatments

Boosting immune system

Colds

Eear infections

Preventing respiratory infections

Malaria

Occular problems

Asthma

Diabetes

High blood pressure

AIDS

Skin conditions like acne and psoriasis/eczema

ADHD

Tinnitus

Crohn’s, Alzheimer’s, Hansen’s and Wilson’s diseases

Ulcers

Male infertility

Erectile dysfunction

Osteoporosis

Rheumatoid arthritis

Dental plaque

Sickle cell disease

tl; dr ... Short and to the Point

Who is this article aimed at?

Those interested in Zinc and it's effect on testosterone. Anyone looking at ZMA, supplementing with Zinc, or buying a T-booster with zinc as a core ingredient.

I am busy - summarize it for me

It's not easy to find an objective assessment of zinc and it's effectiveness as a test booster. If you ignore all the hype around ZMA you'll find that there are scientific studies (real ones) backing up zinc. The truth is that it's important to have healthy zinc levels if you are concentrating on your testosterone, or trying to increase it.

All content on this website is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice, it is based upon research and the personal and professional experiences of the authors.